Hollis w



H. W. MOORE.

(No Model.)

FIFTH WHEEL. I

No. 309,726. Patented Deo. 23. 1884.V

tlNrTEn STATES PATENT OEETCE,

HOLLIS XV. BVIOORE, OF OLEAN, NEXV YORK.

FIFTH-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION' forming part of Letters Patent No. 309,726, dated December 23,1884.

Application tiled April 22, 1384. (No m'rdel.)

To /t/l 'LU/tout t may concern:

Beit known that I, HOLLIS V. MOORE, of Olean, in the county of Oattaraugns and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fifth-Wheels; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description 'of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertai ns to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvementin carriagesand wagons, and niore particularly in fifth-wheels therefor, the object being to provide a devieeof this character which will obviate the danger heretofore experienced in the liability of the king bolt giving way, and to provide means whereby the strain upon the saine is avoided; a further object being to provide a tiftlrwheel which shall be simple in construction, and which will operate with asinall amount of friction and with but little wear between the parts, and which shall be applicable to any style of vehicles at a small initial cost; a further object being to pro vide sectional iutchells having clips formed integral therewith, and adapted to support said tit'th-wheel; and with these ends in view my invention consists in a iifthwheel the lower section of which is provided at or about its center with an upward extending perforated neck formed integral therewith or secured thereto, the upper section heilig provided at its center' with a recessed perforated collar adapted to loosely fit the neck on the lower section.

My invention further consists in an upper section of a iit'th wheel provided with upwardly-extending ears or lugs for securing the bodysupports and preventing strain by torsional action.

My invention further consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations ofparts which will be more ful ly described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view showing the lntchells provided with clips and secured to a springblock. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the iifthwheel, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view thereof, with the saine connected to the body-supports.

In the drawings, A represents sectional futchells consisting of two pieces of metal bent into the required shape, and having the ends B tapered` so as to enter the perforations O in the spring-block D, which is adapted to receive the same and he secured therein by means of suitable bolts or rivets. The forward ends, E, of the futchell are formed integral therewith, and bent in an outward U shape as shown, and are provided with the perforations G and H, and afford suitable rests or bearings for, vehicle shafts or poles,which are suitably secured therein.

The futchells A are secured together by means of cross bars l, which are fastened thereto and serve to forni supports for the lower section of the fifth-wheel, which is rigidly secured thereto.

The tftlrwheel is composed of the sections J and K, which are respectively designa-ted as the upper and lower sections, and are preferably made with rounded or crescent-shaped ends L, as shown. The lower section. K, is centrally provided with an upwardly-extending perforated neck, lli, formed integral therewith or secured thereto, the upper section, J, being provided at its center with a recessed perforated collar, N, adapted to loosely t the neck on t-he lower section, the object of which is to relieve the king-bolt of tensional strain, as the weight ofthe pnlLis brought upon the said collar and neck, and leaves to the king bolt the duty of holding the sections together and re-enforcing the collar. The upper section, J, is further provided at its ends with the perforated ears or lugs O, situated in positions diametrically opposite each other, the saine being adapted to enter the recesses l?, formed in the cross-bars or body-supports Q, and are secured therein by means of bolts or rivets, which pass through transverse holes in said bars adapted to receive them; or, if desired, the lugs may be dispensed with and the up per section, J, may be bolted directly to the body supports Q. The carriage or wagon body is secured to the said bars Q in any approved or desired inanner.

As will be seen, my improved manner of constructing fifth-wheels entirely obviates the necessity of providing more than two crossbars to the i'utchell, and, further, entirely dispenses with the use of washers and wear- IOO plates under the head of king-bolts, and also obviates the necessity of passing king bolts through the wagon-body.

This device is simple in construction, durable and efiicient in use, and can be made at a sniall initial cost.

It is evident that slight changes in the construction and relative arrangement of the several parts of my improvement inight be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention; and hence I would have it undestood that I do not confine myself to the exact construction shown and described, but consider myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described niy invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letl. In a spring-platform for vehicles,a futchell consisting of metallic side bars, the rear ends of' which are secured in a spring-block,

provided with the upwardly extending neck M, of the upper plate, J, provided with a recessed collar and with the lugs O, and a bolt and nuts for holding` said plates together, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

HOLLIS W". MOORE.

NitIiesses:

FRED R. EATON, GHAS. A. DYE. 

